The Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary People Whose Lives Have Been Changed by Football
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The Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary People Whose Lives Have Been Changed by Football |
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Football's Hidden Story Summaries
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No. 27 Japan’s Old Masters The Japanese are the longest-lived major nation – no doubt because of their diet rich in fish and rice. Japan also boasts probably the oldest footballers in the world. Every year over 270 remarkably-fit players of over 70 years old who still play regularly go into a ballot to play in the prestigious Royal East v West Meet at the National Stadium in Tokyo. Only 170 are lucky and are divided into teams acceding to age with the ‘youngest’ group in their early seventies and oldest in the late eighties. In fact the oldest player of all is 90-year-old Shinichi Setoh who was once good enough to be considered for the 1936 Japanese Olympic football team. No. 26 The Defenders of Chaco The activities offered by Defensores del Chaco are targeted to children and young people in the economically depressed suburb of Buenos Aires, Chaco Chico. Young people involved in the organisation have the opportunity to both profit from the programmes on offer and to create and run their own activities. Playing a bit of football together instead of just hanging around formed the beginning of Defensores del Chaco. In 1994, a cultural and sports centre was built in Chaco Chico and is now visited by around 1,200 children and young people and offers art and music courses alongside football and other sports. In addition, young people can train to become football coaches or cultural workers.
No. 25 Breaking The Barriers Anders Krystad is a coordinator for the Norwegian FA and organises a progamme of football for those who are often excluded from regular life including those with learning disabilities, the physically disabled, drug addicts and ethnic minorities. One of his star players is Martin Sandvik who, as a youngster, was diagnosed as suffering with severe learning difficulties. The effect this had on him and those around him saw Martin experience extreme low self-esteem as well as being a victim of bullying. He felt lonely and abandoned. He had always had a love of football, and it was this enthusiasm which led him to create his own five-a-side club. His life has turned around he now plays for one of 75 clubs in Norway for those with learning difficulties.
“It’s Good to Lose” is not a concept that would normally be associated with the game of soccer! However in the run-down suburbs of the Chilean capital, Santiago, young men with nothing better to do often end up in a downward spiral of petty criminality. But a street football project called CHIGOL has transformed many lives and neighbourhoods. Youngsters can come and train and play football but the team that wins may not be the one that has scored the most goals. The teams decide on the rules before each game and award each other points for virtues like clean play, respect, team solidarity and fairness to female players - rules that they can take into life itself. Two troublesome youths, Pablo and Juan, who used to spend their lives drinking, taking drugs and fighting have now gone on to be trainers for the project and this has give them a new motivation to sort their lives out.
No. 23 Making a Difference
NACRO started out in 1966 as a crime reduction project in England and Wales with the goal of creating a safer and more inclusive environment to improve the quality of life for different communities. Beginning in 1995, NACRO incorporated a football programme to engage vulnerable youths and help them socially integrate, while developing their social and life skills. The organisation has attracted a large number of volunteers who, together with knowledgeable staff members and local authorities, engage and inspire around 15,000 youths. One such volunteer is Steve Mowlem who, as a teenager, fell on hard times, left home, lived beneath Bournemouth Pier, and acquired a serious drug addiction. Only through his involvement with Nacro was Steve able to halt this downward spiral.
No. 22 Dreaming of Football
This is a story about Brazil – not about the much-admired skills of the country’s national football team but about the influence that the game can have way down the line on ordinary young people who live in the impoverished shanty towns of the big cities. Kids whose lives are blighted by urban strife and who have no hope for the future - except perhaps through an organisation called EPROCAD (Sports Education for Children and Teenagers). Through football, youngsters are taught about respect, learning rules of life, about successful interaction with others and that fairness is more important than winning. So they see that there are options in life other than drugs and crime.
Across Africa, Play Soccer is one of a growing number of programs aimed at helping tomorrow’s generation. An international initiative helping in the education, social and physical development of young people, Play Soccer uses football as the foundation of the program. With an emphasis very much on inclusive community-based activities, three over-lapping core components are promoted. Children are encouraged simply to enjoy playing and learning about the rules and techniques needed to play the game; Education on the necessary life skills needed for their social and physical development, and an awareness of the importance of social values such as leadership, teamwork, fair play, respect, and equality. No. 20 Future Hope Future Hope was set up over 18 years ago to provide a home, education, medical aid and opportunity to some of the children of Kolkata (formerly know as Calcutta) who found themselves living on the streets of the city. These children suffer extreme poverty and have little or no ability to change their lives. More than anything they need the love and security of a home. Future Hope now runs six homes where more than 200 former street children live and enjoy life. Sport has always played a major role in Future Hope and it is through sport that they have been able to develop discipline and a sense of purpose in many of their children. One of India’s most famous footballers, Biachung Bhutia, is a regular visitor to the programme, run by an inspirational Englishman, Tim Grandage. No. 19 Football Tackles Schizophrenia An Italian psychiatrist is obtaining startling results with patients suffering from schizophrenia and depression by enlisting them in a competitive football team. Of the 80 who have passed through the ranks since the team formed in 1993, over half have cut down their drug intake, but more importantly, more than half have returned to work. Psychology graduate and schizophrenic Benedetto Quirino was pestered by voices in his head until he became a right winger for Dr Raffaeli. "When you run out on the pitch, the voices stop," he says, "Your opponent is no longer inside you, he has come out and you can dribble round him and beat him." Since the success of this team, 50 other football teams of mental patients have sprung up around Italy. There seems to be no limit on how important and beneficial the idea could become. No. 18 Top of the World The Sahara Club, based in Pokhara in the shadows of the Himalayas, runs an academy for 20 orphaned and disadvantaged former street children who live by selling the scrapings of garbage dumps to recycling factories. The aim is to protect these youngsters from a life of crime and poverty. 13-year-old Mahendra Bishoka sees football as an escape "from collecting plastic bottles and wastes in the streets." The boys were originally picked because they showed an aptitude for football and they now train or play the game for four hours a day as well as receiving a good general education. Some may be talented enough for the Nepali national team but, if not, the Sahara Club aims to make sure that when they are old enough to leave the academy, they will be trained in a good career to carry them through life. No. 17 One Game, One Family Romany Nicolae Valeriou saw a banner unfurled at a Romanian football match that read ‘Gypsies Die’. He was sickened and decided to start a campaign to stop not just racism in football but also to alter perceptions about his peers that was rife in Romanian society at the time. He quickly realised that football and its values of unity were a powerful ally in his struggle. He enlisted the support of European politicians and former players to organise anti-racist awareness games and rallies. Momentum for Nicolai’s projects increased until legislation was introduced that banned identified racists from football matches. However, his struggle experienced inevitable growing pains. When Steaua Bucharest was banned temporarily for breaching new anti-racist regulations, Nicolae Valeriou was blamed for the sanction and instantly became a public hate figure. He is gradually winning his battle though. Attitudes are changing and certainly racist chants have decreased. Three years ago Nicolae had an annual project budget of 500 Euros. Now with the aid of the Romanian Football Federation, 100,000 Euros has been ploughed into the cause this year alone. No. 16 Bridging the Divide The Abu Ghosh Katamon soccer team seems like any other sports club. They celebrate passionately and hug each other when they score. Fans celebrate victories together. But in Jerusalem, the most divided city and intractable problem in the Middle East, these gestures of solidarity have a more profound significance. The club is made up of fans, players, and management from different ethnic backgrounds, bringing together Jews and Arabs in a way that politics and religion has yet failed to do. This harmonious outlook has attracted players and personnel who are sometimes over-qualified for the fourth division club, but are there to share in its groundbreaking ideology No. 15 From Prison to Premiership Jamie Lawrence won more than 40 caps for Jamaica, played at the very highest level of English football with Sunderland and Leicester City, and currently plays for Harrow Borough. And he’s a former inmate of Camp Hill prison on the Isle of Wight, having been sentenced to four years for robbery with violence. He played for the prison team and then for a local team on the island where he was watched by scouts from by professional clubs and his life changed from that point. If it hadn’t have been for football, would Jamie still be in prison? Since his release, he now works tirelessly to educate youngsters of the dangers of following down the same path as he did. He runs his own football training academy where disaffected youngsters not only enjoy being part of a team but also accept the discipline from Jamie who has also become their mentor and a big influence on their lives. No. 14 Child’s Play Football is the world's most-loved sport and the FIFA World Cup the most watched event. FIFA has recognised the potential football has in doing good and has established firm links with the charity, SOS Children's Villages, to help some of the most disadvantaged children in the world. SOS helps children whose parents are not there for them - Aids orphans, street children, child soldiers and children orphaned by war or disasters. At the last World Cup, FIFA instigated ‘6 for 2006’, whereby six new villages would be created. We look at two, one in Brovary, Ukraine and another in Vietnam. No. 13 From the Bottle to the Cup Three years ago, David Duke was an alcoholic in Scotland’s second city, Glasgow. Sacked from his job and kicked out on the streets, he had hit rock bottom. Directionless and alone he found out about the ‘Homeless World Cup’ and realised that there was something tangible he could grab on to in his life. He trained hard to be a member of the team and the discipline and routine that training for football provides helped him piece his life together. He played for Scotland at the HWC and the next year he became assistant coach of the Scotland team. Last summer he took full managerial control of the team and successfully led them to victory at the HWC in Denmark. He has recently has moved into his own home and is helping other addicts and homeless people to turn their life around as he has managed to do. No. 12 Football for Peace The West African country of Liberia was ripped apart by civil unrest and political upheaval during the late 90s. Only in recent years has the country shown signs of stability but it is still going through a period of recovery. The Sport for Peace movement aims to unite former warring factions. A world away from the events such as the FIFA World Cup, people like Napoleon Jaeploe are striving to bring the youth of the country together through football. A more passionate advocate of football as a means for bringing peace you could not wish to find. It is thanks to people such as Napoleon, working at the grassroots level of the game, who make a genuine difference to the lives of his fellow countrymen. For instance, six years ago Ricky Michel and Varney Kamara were adolescent boys fighting on opposite sides - now they are friends playing for the same football team.
No. 11 A Game for Girls? As a young pupil, Heather Cowan had to fight to get her school to recognise that girls wanted to play football so she got together her own team. Now, at 27, she’s development officer for women’s football in Birmingham, England. One of her protégés is Laura Shmid. At the age of 15, Laura was heading for a life with few opportunities. She was not attending school and when she did her marks were appalling. The only thing in life that she enjoyed was football. Her school then hit her with an ultimatum – if she didn’t attend school and reform she was not allowed to play the one thing she loved. Laura realised she had potential but that she was on the path to failure. So, spurred on by her passion, she turned her life around. Laura has now followed a route through refereeing, into coaching, using her knowledge and leadership skills. Laura now coaches various teams, including numerous disabled teams. She is on the way to completing her Level 2 coaching badge. No. 10 Tsunami’s Comeback Survivors Club Carlos in Banda Aceh, Sumatra was destroyed in the Tsunami of 2005 with only two survivors. The story of those players and how the club and town are rebuilding. Also featuring Martinus, a young boy filmed by TV wandering alone along the beach after the great wave struck and wearing only a pair of shorts and a Portugal Christiano Ronaldo football shirt. Both Ronaldo and the manager of Portugal Felipe Scolari were so taken by the sad picture that they invited Martinus to come to Portugal to see the team play in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. No. 9 Wise Heads on Young Shoulders An nterview with Northern Ireland’s Jack Gallagher, a FIFA technical advisor who has been involved with football coaching and development for nearly 40 years. Also looking at how youth championships affect players’ development. Like Luis Figo, who was a star of the 1989 FIFA U-17 World Championship and went on to become FIFA World Player of the Year. What role did tournaments up play in his formative years. The Milk Cup, the international youth football tournament in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, is one of the biggest tournaments of its kind and where the likes of David Beckham once played. No. 8 Football’s Fight Against Aids Grassroot Soccer (Grassroot singular is correct) is an international NGO that uses the power of football to teach young people about HIV/AIDS. Port Elizabeth has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the country. Grassroot Soccer has developed a game based curriculum, teaching children from 10 to 18 years about HIV/AIDS, prevention strategies and general life skills. The programme is supported by Football for Hope, a strategic initiative between FIFA and Streetfootballworld, dedicated at promoting development through football worldwide.Twice a week, Grassroot Soccer coaches visit local schools for an extensive afternoon program of “edutraining”, taking each class through an eight-week curriculum of playful education. The children are hooked on the programme with most of them sharing their learning with their families and peers. Almost everyone has been personally affected by HIV/AIDS in one way or the other. Lungiswa Ngceza, 12, has lost both mother and father to the disease. Grassroot Soccer teaches her how to stay strong and how to make the right choices in life. The coaches are more than just trainers and peer educators. They become role models for the children, extended family, inspiring the children to learn and take the message out to others, to help reducing the stigma about HIV/AIDS in the community.
No.6 Thai Futsal Phenomena Futsal in Thailand is a phenomenon. In Bangkok, the countless concrete spaces allow the game to flourish. In the city alone around half a million players make up over 10,000 teams. Without the need for expensive grass pitches, Futsal competitions can happen anywhere; under busy expressways, in empty markets or in temple courtyards. Tournaments in deprived areas across the city are a fertile ground for international players. The Suratsawang twins are a bright example of the power of futsal. They emerged from the slums to eventually represent their country in a Futsal World Championship. The duo's skill has been harnessed by their coach Pattaya Piemkum, who has seen them rise from poverty to national acclaim. The twins are aware of their increased status and are eager to give back to the game. They coach sessions regularly, and through Futsal inspire kids from their neighbourhoods to harbour a real sense of hope No. 5 A Life without Limits: Amputee Football Amputee football transforms players from marginalised figures into examples of courage and determination. We relate the rapid emergence of the game in Liberia as a case study of Africa as a whole. An interview with Robert Karloh, President of the African Amputee Association, to explain the importance of the game, not just for the players but for the community as a whole. Then we focus on Liberian International Dennis Parker's turbulent life and see how football transformed his life from misery into a positive example to others. Players may have lost limbs through very different and terrible situations, but football offers them all the same thing: a chance for glory in The Amputee World Finals. No. 4 The Colombianitos: Football Fighting Violence Colombia’s passion for football is being used to keep children in school and out of the clutches of street gangs, prostitution rings, Marxist guerrillas and drug cartels. ‘Goals for a better life’ is a programme run by the charity ‘Colombianitos’ which means ‘Little Colombians’. Colombianitos now have programmes in five different parts of the Colombia helping some 2,500 children who live in dangerous and desperately poor areas. Now entering its 43rd year of civil war, Colombia finds its youth buffeted on all sides by crime and conflict. Colombianitos do not hand out money. They provide football trainers, balls and some kit. However to be part of the programme the kids have to be in school and studying hard. The Colombianitos programme keeps the kids busy in their free time and keep them off drugs. Behind the scenes a psychologist and a social worker identify vulnerable children and work with the families to keep them in school and to deal with the pressures of coping in one of the world’s most violent societies. No. 3 The Future is Feminine A look at the women's game in China and in England, the country where the modern game of Association Football began. The Premier League is the most watched and wealthy league in all the world and England is in the top strata of football nations so the interest in the game is enormous. England men are ranked No.12 in the world. In China, on the other hand, football is popular and has big audiences on TV but comes second to basketball in terms of interest and the men's team is ranked only No.85 in the world. The Chinese women have been very successful internationally in the past, reaching all four of the previous FIFA World Cup Finals and coming runners-up to the USA in 1999. China is No.11 in the women's world ranking. England come below them at No.12 but, until now, the women's game has attracted little interest in England. But that is changing and more and more girls want to play football and England reached the FIFA Women's World Cup Final for only the second time. No. 2 Women Referees: A Hard Job Made Harder Finding out about the life and experiences of a female Moslem referee, Fatou Gaye, who has travelled across the world from impoverished Senegal to be a part of the elite group of women referees who officiate at international matches and is now training referees herself. No. 1 A New Dawn: The Rebirth of a Troubled Nation In 1974 Haiti won a place at the World Cup Finals in Germany. Thirty-three revolutionary years later, the impoverished country’s under-17 team was at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea in 2007. The team had its newly-built training ground ransacked, but due to the will and courage of many people, it has been able to maintain its training amidst the shoestring rebuild. It has managed to maintain good form and the nation hopes the national Under-17 team can harness its natural football skills and eventually bring glory back to the island. The main characters are members of the Vorbe family: Dominic Vorbe is FIFA and Haiti U-17 Co-ordinator and brother of Philippe who played in midfield in the 1974 FIFA World Cup; Fabian Vorbe is a nephew of the brothers and current star of U-17 side.
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